US stocks trade higher amid data

New York: US stocks traded higher on Thursday as investors digested the latest economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 122.79 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 26,272.18. The S&P 500 increased 10.09 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 2,833.78, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 14.77 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 7,425.79.

On the economic front, in the week ending January 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 230,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised level, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

The previous week’s level was revised down by 2,000 from 233,000 to 231,000.

The four-week moving average was 234,500, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 500 from 240,000 to 239,500, said the department.

On Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rates unchanged at 1.25 to 1.5 per cent after its two-day meeting, while giving an upbeat assessment of recent US economic growth.

“Gains in employment, household spending, and business fixed investment have been solid, and the unemployment rate has stayed low,” the Fed’s policy-making committee said in a statement.

The Fed also expected US inflation on a 12-month basis to “move up this year and to stabilize” around the central bank’s 2 per cent target over the medium term.